Committee refuses to waive private‑property adaptation grant cap for 6005 Alton Road; item deferred for state program briefing

Miami Beach’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee on Feb. 20 voted to deny a request to waive the maximum grant amount under the city's Private Property Adaptation Program for work proposed to raise a historic home at 6005 Alton Road.

Sponsor Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez introduced the item and said she wanted information from the state about programs that could be used. Amy Knowles, the city’s chief resilience officer, told the committee staff reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which administers the state passthrough for FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance and a separate state program called Elevate Florida, but that agency representatives were not available for the meeting because they were in an application period for the state program.

Commissioner Dominguez moved to deny waiving the program cap, saying the private property adaptation program was not intended to fund the project in question and that the property owner had been working on applying to Elevate Florida and other state programs. The committee adopted Dominguez’s motion by acclamation. Dominguez and others emphasized they did not intend to strip assistance from eligible residents but instead to pursue state funding first.

After the denial, the committee agreed to defer further discussion to allow time for the city to secure a presentation from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (or the state passthrough entity) and to report back on state/federal options and program requirements. Commissioner Bhatt urged staff to present the state program in April or May if DEM staff are unavailable.

Why it matters

Committee members said they want to ensure city adaptation funds are used consistent with program purpose and supported efforts to clarify the interplay between the city’s private property program and state and federal funding opportunities. Staff said the state program (Elevate Florida) is in an active application period and that the city has issued outreach materials about the state passthrough program and FEMA mitigation funds.

Next steps

Staff will continue outreach to the Florida Division of Emergency Management and will return to committee with a briefing on the state passthrough program and how it interacts with the city’s private property adaptation grant rules. The committee did not change the city program’s cap and denied the waiver request.